It is a fact that “the great would not think
themselves demigods if the little did not worship them.” Greatness is gained by
comparison and when analysed it comes to a greater range and extent than hen
looked at by itself Greatness is a relative term. Very’ few are great because
of originality. Distinction very often comes through contrast. A man of
ordinary stature would be a ±distinguished figure in the land of piggies. A man
getting a salary of Rs. 10.000 a month would be considered a rich man among the
labourers who live from hand to mouth. A village school master who has only got
though his Matriculation would be looked upon as a prodigy of learning by the
simple minded rustics.
So the value of greatness depends on our sense of
proportion. Little men have a narrow outlook on life. Their ideas are derived
from their immediate surroundings and they have not the poker of visualization.
They cannot look far ahead, nor have they the faculty of observing things in
their right perspective. The result is that their judgement is incorrect and
they are not able to discriminate between the great things and little things.
Great things ‘id fill their minds with superstitious have, while the little
things would loom large in their eyes. There are so many little men’s great men
in this who possess no inherent worth, but who pose themselves as great: before
the little men. The servant to a Deputy’ Commissioner is a great men in the
eyes of the villagers. A pocket gramophone or a travelling cinema ‘.would he a
wonder of the world: them. This is all due to their narrow and distorted
vision.
But this narrow outlook of little men has an
advantage also. They have very few ambitions and those too are easily
fulfilled. Their desires do not extend to unattainable or valuable things. They
are satisfied with little things and lead a contented life. Moreover, the
pleasure they desire from little things is greater than what the great men get
from great things, because they can never reach the goal of their ambitions.
They aim at the moon and only hit at the mountain.
Generally, greatness is an illusion. The minute a great man is
taken out of the atmosphere be is living in or the position he is occupying, he
becomes shorn of his greatness. “When greatness descends from its lofty
pedestal, it assumes human dimensions.”